


Daisies and Hot Chocolate

by xmzame



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 08:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3350765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xmzame/pseuds/xmzame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It just so happens to be two days before Valentine's Day, when Castiel and Dean spend time alone together for the first time after school. Hot chocolate's always the answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daisies and Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's day!

Castiel has never talked to Dean alone before.

Sure, they’ve hung out before, but it was always with a friend or four, most of the time the latter. They didn’t get the same classes, or go to the same clubs, but Castiel noticed him from the moment their mutual friend Charlie introduced them to each other. And boy, did he notice.

They’ve talked before, had a few group conversations. Some of their friends wondered why there were certain times when Castiel said only two words in an hour and other times when he spoke sixty words in two minutes. Castiel knows the reason for that.

He was always afraid of embarrassing himself by saying something stupid or unnecessary in front of Dean, but he realized the worst came out of that habit, and figured Dean probably ignored him the entire time.

Now, it was existential.

Castiel’s stuck with Dean for Lord knows how long at the waiting area, due to his tutee’s cancelled plan on studying at the library till five. He doesn’t even know if Dean stays back this late every day.

He can tell Dean’s a little unsure of what to do in the situation as well, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact. Their other friends are at home, and clearly not having to deal with any kind of awkward situation like this.

“You know, everyone says you’re a pretty damn talker sometimes. But I’ve never heard you say more than five sentences, honest,” Dean says, breaking the silence between them.

He offers a smile as he finishes his sentence. Castiel looks at his hands and tries to think of a somewhat good reason, but nothing comes to his head.

“I- um, I don’t know. I guess I’m just- a little intimidated by you?” Castiel replies with. “In a good way, of course. I think.”

Dean raises an eyebrow at that, as if registering what Castiel just said over and over.

“Me, intimidating?” Dean laughs, a toothy grin present on his face. Shaking his head, he says, “Man, I’m the dude who fell asleep in History class and left drool on my workbook. I’m the dude who’s scared shitless of riding a plane, and _roaches_ , for crying out loud. Also, I dropped my phone in the toilet bowl this morning.”

“Why… are you telling me all that?” Castiel asks, a small smile forming on his mouth. His heartbeat eases a little.

“To prove that I’m not as intimidating as you think I am,” Dean says, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, if you piss me off by being a dick to me, or my brother, or any of my friends for no reason, then yeah, I won’t sit quiet about it. But you don’t seem like a dick. I just thought you always hated me.”

“No, please don’t think- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to think that. You seem great,” Castiel admits.

Dean grins. “And judging by the way our friends talk about you, you seem great too.”

Castiel’s cheeks flush as his smile gets wider and closes it soon after looking down at his own hands.

“So do you always stay back this late?” he asks.

Dean shrugs. “Sometimes. My dad’s got heavy work, unpredictable days, that’s all. Still a year away from being able to drive. What are you doing here? You always take the bus.”

Castiel sighs. “I was supposed to tutor Garth at the library until five. He cancelled. My sister’s picking me up, but she’ll only be free at four forty-five.”

“So… you’re gonna be here for another hour or so?”

Castiel wonders if Dean’s annoyed with his presence already, so he just nods.

Dean bites back a smile. “Well, it’s gonna get colder than it already is. So unless you want to freeze to death out here, we can go get hot chocolate at the cafeteria.”

_Dean Winchester wants to get hot chocolate with me._

“Um, is that even possible when it closes at three?” Castiel questions, checking his watch. 3.57.

Dean smirks, sending a tight pull on Castiel’s throat until he forgets to breathe.

“Trust me, I have a way.”

“O-okay, then?”

~~~

“Cas, get down!” Dean hisses.

“What?” Castiel turns around quickly to an empty space where he swears Dean was before. A hand tugs on his, pulling him down to the ground behind the cabinets.

“Ow- Dean! What-”

Dean silences him with a hand pressed to his mouth, looking at his own hand in confusion as if he hadn’t meant to do that at all. Castiel questions him with a raise of the eyebrows and peers down at the hand covering his mouth.

The door swings open with a creak before the lights flicker on in the kitchen. Dean removes his hand quickly and gestures for Castiel to stay low, seeing as it wasn’t a very tall cabinet. Castiel’s eyes fill with panic and holds in a breath as footsteps come closer, followed by the sound of rummaging items.

“Damn it, where’s that phone?” the cafeteria lady finally speaks up.

Castiel darts his eyes towards Dean, who’s holding in a breath as long as he can. His expression is surprisingly calm, with just an ounce of worry as he bites on the bottom of his lip. Castiel shakes his head and tries not to let out a sigh as drawers start to open. This lady isn’t leaving until she finds her phone. How hard can that even be? He thinks it might really be the end of him if they get caught. He’s definitely having a talk with Dean later.

Castiel nearly gasps as he looks up, where a phone sits perfectly next to a sieve on the counter in _front_ of them. He taps Dean by the arm frantically to get his attention, which he does within the first second, and points a finger up to the direction of the counter. Dean mouths, “Crap” and waves a hand, telling Castiel to move the other side quickly.

Castiel doesn’t move and halts Dean with a finger, shaking his head. He waits for a signal indicating the lady is close enough to not see them from the side of the cabinet, and by coincidence, the phone on the counter beeps.

The lady sighs and strolls over to the counter briskly, muttering, “There you are.”

Dean moves at a quicker pace than Castiel does, having them accidentally bump into each other against the metal cabinet. Castiel sends a glare towards Dean, who returns it right back, not looking sorry at all. They communicate silently, mentally scolding each other, at least Cas thinks so.

“Who’s there?” her voice echoes through the room.

Castiel and Dean stay silent, swallowing their throats as they do their best to keep themselves way out of the lady’s view.

“Heck no, I ain’t dying tonight!”

With a rush of footsteps and a quick slam of the door, the cafeteria lady evacuates the area after swiping the phone in her hand. Castiel peeps his head up, looking from below the cabinet they hid behind.

“She’s gone,” Castiel states. He turns to Dean, who’s now smiling apologetically at him. Castiel’s gonna talk to him. He’s _definitely_ going to talk to him about this, and his tiny massive crush on the guy isn’t stopping him.

“You can yell at me, I got you into this,” Dean says with a sigh, getting himself off of the kitchen floor. He offers a hand to Castiel, holding it out, green eyes attempting to ask for an apology.

Castiel takes his hand, letting Dean pull him up. Suddenly, like a spell, it’s almost as if he forgets anything bad that could have happened. It’s not even pity. It’s the fact that he might just like Dean Winchester twice as much now.

“I’m not going to yell at you,” Castiel murmurs and lets go of his hand.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, it was… fun.”

There’s a short pause accompanied with awkward staring, until the both of them burst into laughter.

“Fun? You were petrified the whole time!”

Castiel beams. “That’s because _that_ would’ve been the first time I ever got into trouble. But now that I think about it, and now that we’re safe, it was kind of- thrilling. I feel sorry for the lady, though.”

“First time breaking a rule? Well, no rule in the handbook that says we can’t go in the kitchen,” Dean marvels, moving past him. “Hot chocolate?”

“How are you even- how did you even find out this secret _pathway_?”

“Well, when you’ve been loitering around school an hour after dismissal at least twice a week, you find crap,” Dean replies.

While making hot chocolate with two instant packets found in one of the cupboards, Dean tells Castiel about how he usually hangs out here with his brother, Sam, when it comes to getting home late. He tells him about the time they occupied themselves by actually making their _own_ hot cocoa because of how bored they were. Also the three times they almost got caught, but didn’t. Castiel watches him as he continues the stories about him and his brother, face lit up with crinkles by his eyes and a toothy smile.

“Well now, he’s pretty much trapping himself in the library, says he needs to study for an upcoming test. Smart kid. What about you?” Dean changes the topic, handing him a mug of hot chocolate. “No marshmallows in here.”

Castiel takes the mug in his hands, sighing at the relieved warmth. “Thanks. What about me? My sisters are nice.”

Dean takes a sip, eyes glancing up from the mug as he waits for Castiel to continue. “Your sisters are nice, that’s it?”

“Yes,” Castiel reaffirms.

Thankfully, Dean gets the idea of Castiel not liking the subject of his family and brushes it off. The topic changes to favourite music, bands, and then to annoying, stuck-up classmates. Dean laughs more than he should when Castiel makes a mild joke or comment, and Castiel tries not to blush every time he does so or stare at the way his mouth tires from smiling.

“So, are you sending a rose to anyone special for Valentine’s?” Dean asks, a light smirk playing on his face.

Castiel’s face goes red again before he’s able to laugh it off. He does try anyway, avoiding eye contact with Dean, which would definitely give him away too easily. Of course, out of all topics, Dean chooses the unwanted one.

“Uh- no. Not really,” Castiel lazily answers with a small, shy smile.

“You totally like someone.”

Castiel whips his head up quick, facing Dean who looks at him with a knowing smile. “I- I didn’t say that at all.”

“Hm. So, there’s no special someone you’d _fess_ up to soon enough?” Dean asks.

“Even if there was someone,” Castiel starts. Dean looks at him with a celebratory smile, eyes already lighting up with victory. “ _Which_ there isn’t, most likely, I’d rather start dieting than ‘fess up’ to that person by giving hi- _them_ a rose on Valentine’s Day.”

“So what then? Carnations, sunflowers?” Dean teases.

“Daisies,” Castiel answers sarcastically. “What about you?” he asks before he can stop himself.

Dean pauses and forms a thin line with his mouth, shaking his head. “Never been the type for Valentine’s. I mean, why choose that one day to tell or show a person you like them when you can do it anytime? I don’t know, I’ve always found it pretty weird.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more.”

Castiel sneaks a few glances as Dean seems like he’s suppressing a smile. Dean fishes out his wallet, taking out a few dollars before placing them on the counter.

“And I was just starting to question whether you were a thief,” Castiel admits.

“Not in cases like this, no. These people are way underpaid, I’m not just gonna come in here and steal their hot chocolate. It’s just rude,” Dean says casually.

Castiel smiles. “So- in other cases, you _would_ steal?”

“You gonna report me, Mr-Never-Broken-a-Rule-Before?” Dean jokes, sending a wink right in his direction. Castiel’s sure if it wasn’t for the lighting, he must look obviously cherry tomato red by now.

A continuous beeping sound interrupts them, and Dean quickly gets his phone out of his pocket to answer it.

“Sam? Yeah. Oh- that was quick. Alright, I’m on my way.” Dean hangs up, puts his phone away and manages a half-smile as he looks back at Castiel. “I uh- my dad’s here, I gotta go.”

Castiel nods. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I can wash the mugs before I go-”

“No, that’s fine, let me. I had a nice time,” Castiel says, reaching forward for the mugs on the counter next to them. He then realizes he’s speaking as if they were on a date this whole time.

Dean grins. “Yeah, so did I. Hey uh, we should talk more. I like- talking to you. And your voice. Your voice is- nice,” he says awkwardly. There’s a second of a pause, where Castiel just stares at him flushed in the face, before Dean turns around to make his leave.

Castiel looks at the empty mugs in his hands and breaks into a wide smile. Dean occupies his mind for the rest of the day.

~~~

The next day, the day before Valentine’s, Castiel doesn’t see Dean in the morning of school, much to his disappointment. He does see Charlie, who greets and follows him to get to their first class together.

“Searching for someone?” Charlie asks as if she’d just read his mind. Castiel sighs, shakes his head and stops by his locker to collect a few books.

“No, I just-”

“Oh my God.”

Castiel doesn’t have to question her, because he sees it himself a second later. Taped to the inside of his locker, is a white daisy, fresh with a light green stem, and a handwritten note at its side.

_**I like talking to you.** _

_**Happy Valentine’s Day-ish, I guess.** _

_**I still think it’s pretty stupid.** _

_**The flower might die by the time school ends, sorry.** _

Castiel reads it again and again, his beam growing wider at every second he looks at it. He loses himself, cheeks going pink, until he forgets Charlie’s right there next to him.

“You got a Valentine!” Charlie chimes and jumps excitedly, tapping his arm many times. She reads the note herself, her face going from cheers to confusion. “Wow, smooth. Any idea who it is?”

Castiel smiles shyly and looks to where Dean’s locker is on the other end of the hallway. Dean is standing there, talking to Benny, until their gazes lock, which makes Dean take a huge step back with wide eyes, hiding behind his own locker. Benny looks genuinely confused until he himself turns around and sees Castiel. He looks back at Dean and smirks, pulling him out of his hiding spot.

“Cas, what are you even-?” Charlie turns her head to where Castiel is looking and gasps. “You and Dean?”

“Not much what you think,” Castiel says, suppressing a smile as he turns away, looking one last time at the flower before shutting his locker.

“This is great. My two best friends who never seemed to talk to each other, but have always liked each other, finally talking! And more. Talking and _more_. You should go out together. This is great.”

“Let’s just get to class, please,” Castiel responds as he fails to bite back a smile when Charlie says “always liked each other”.

“You’re telling me _everything_ later!” Charlie marvels.

Castiel mutters, “Fine.” He smiles and waves at Dean as they pass by, stomach knotting. Dean’s eyes light up as he waves back, cheeks flushing with tints of red. Charlie must’ve said something about them again, but Castiel tunes her out, and everything else as well.

He smiles and thinks to himself, _Maybe Valentine’s Day isn’t so weird after all._


End file.
